


Thank You (To the One Who Let Him Get Away)

by FallingLikeThis



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Cheating, First Words, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, but it's not harry or Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-13 15:23:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21496465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingLikeThis/pseuds/FallingLikeThis
Summary: Louis' soulmark says "Will You Marry Me?". In all scenarios where Louis has imagined hearing those words, he never could have dreamed it would go like this.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Louis Tomlinson/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 648
Collections: 28 Proposals Fic Fest, graveyart





	Thank You (To the One Who Let Him Get Away)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to M and L for always being such amazing friends and betas.  
Thank you to Lauren for running this fest!  
And thank you for reading my humble offering. I hope it's worth your time!
> 
> Title is from "One" by Lewis Capaldi.

Louis refuses to let his heart break. Not this time. 

It’s a Friday night, seemingly like any other, and Louis had headed toward the King and Lionheart Pub to meet up with his friends and boyfriend after a hard day at work. He’d actually finished up early for once and hurried over because he knew Andrew would already be there. He’s always there earlier than everyone else and Louis was imagining getting in a nice cuddle in their usual booth before everyone else showed up. All those sweet thoughts went up in flames the second Louis walked in the door and saw Andrew flirting with another man at the bar, his hands all over his conquest. 

Now, Louis stands in the doorway watching as he mentally chides himself for giving in to his loneliness again. He knows Andrew isn’t his soulmate. The words that had flared to life on Louis’ left wrist right as Louis had blown out his 16th birthday candles have never even been uttered in Louis’ general direction. He should have known better than to let his heart get invested in someone that would never really belong to him but, when he’d hit thirty with no sign of his soulmate, he’d been too sad and tired to keep holding out hope. Hence, Andrew, the serial cheater that Louis kept going back to because he thought that at least his heart would know better than to become attached to _ him _ even as his head failed not to. Stupid heart. Stupid head. Stupid, stupid Louis. 

Taking a deep breath, Louis takes a step forward just as Andrew leans over and presses a kiss to the lips of the man he’s been flirting with. He comes away smiling, completely unaware that Louis is on the verge of breaking apart not thirty feet behind him. 

“I don’t care. I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care,” Louis repeats to himself, forcing his head to remain high even though the words are not doing their intended job of convincing him as he resolutely puts one foot in front of the other. 

Andrew is right in front of him now, close enough to touch and Louis still has no idea what to do. He isn’t paying attention to anyone but the man he’s managed to capture in his web this time and Louis isn’t sure if he should pour a drink over Andrew’s head or maybe slap the flirtatious smile off his face when the stranger notices Louis standing there.

The guy turns to look at Louis, directing his dimpled smile at him and causing Andrew to turn too. 

For a second, Louis can’t take his eyes off the stranger. He’s absolutely lovely. He almost doesn’t blame Andrew for this one.

“Louis!” Andrew cries in surprise, glancing from Louis to the other man. He has to know that Louis saw them kissing. 

“Hello, sweetheart,” Louis says, turning to Andrew and kissing him deeply like everything is fine. When he pulls away, he licks his lips with a contented hum and turns back to the other man. “_ You _ taste delicious,” Louis tells him, stepping closer. “Do you mind if I…?” He lifts a hand to tangle in the stranger’s hair and leans in slowly, waiting for a protest that doesn’t come. So Louis kisses the stranger too, long and deep and more passionately than he’s kissed Andrew since the first time he caught him cheating. 

The stranger’s hands slowly come up to wrap around Louis’ waist, gradually pulling him in more with each second that they kiss. 

“Hey!” Andrew’s offended cry breaks them apart and has them both turning to look at him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Louis looks quickly at the stranger before turning back to Andrew. “Are you asking me because I’m stealing your hookup or him because he’s stealing your boyfriend?”

“I--” Andrew fishmouths. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Louis says, narrowing his eyes. “It’s over. You’re done here. Move along, please.”

“Louis--,” Andrew tries, prepared to argue his case. Whether that case is that Louis should take him back or leave him to his one-night stand remains unclear because Louis tunes him out. 

The stranger is already looking at him when Louis turns to meet his gaze. Louis gently rubs his thumb over the stranger’s bottom lip, raising a brow in silent question.

A smirk on his lips, the stranger shrugs his consent, so Louis leans in and seals their lips together again, dismissing Andrew entirely. At least, that’s the show Louis is putting on. Even as his Louis relaxes into the warm hands gently squeezing his hips, he’s entirely aware of the warm presence at his back, the soft scoff as it sinks in that Andrew isn’t going to get to take either of them home with him, and the inevitable chill left behind when he walks away.

Louis kisses the beautiful stranger for a moment longer, until he’s well and truly sure that Andrew is gone, before pulling away and resting his forehead against the stranger’s. He leaves his eyes closed for a minute, just long enough to let it sink in for himself that Andrew is really gone this time. It’s not long enough to convince himself that he’s better off without him though. 

Opening his eyes, he sees that the stranger has his eyes closed too, content to let Louis rest against him. He really does seem so lovely. Under different circumstances, Louis would definitely try to go home with him. He sighs instead, pulling away completely. 

The stranger’s eyes snap open when Louis relinquishes his space, hands tightening around Louis’ hips like maybe he doesn’t want him to go.

“Look, thank you for that. For playing along,” Louis says, still playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. Maybe some part of Louis doesn’t entirely want to go either but he knows he can’t stay in the state he’s in. “I’m really sorry for just hijacking your lips like that. I knew Andrew was a cheater but I’ve never actually _ seen it _ happen before. I was a bit shocked, I suppose. I didn’t know what else to do. Oh, god and now I’m rambling about my problems.” Louis groans at himself.

The stranger opens his mouth to say something but before he can, Andrew steps back into view, putting a hand on each of their shoulders and turning to Louis. “Okay, but for real, that was really hot. If you’re up for a threesome every now and again, I think we can make this work.”

Louis stares at his ex-boyfriend for a good thirty seconds, taking in the look of hope on his face that doesn’t fade a bit even with how long Louis is taking to answer.

Finally, Louis scoffs, stepping away from his ex and the beautiful stranger. “Fuck off, Andrew,” he says, leaving them both behind as he walks purposefully to the loo to dwell on the failure that is his love life in peace. 

Once the door has swung shut behind him, Louis sighs, running his hands through his hair as he leans against the wall. He presses his back against it, sinking slowly to the floor to sit criss-cross as all the energy drains out of his body. 

There’s a strange mixture of sadness and longing playing tug of war with his heart. He knows he shouldn’t be sad over someone like Andrew, but they were together off and on for over a year so maybe Louis should have known he would become a little too fond of him. 

The longing is what’s confusing him though because that’s all for the lovely stranger that he shared several amazing kisses with. Louis doesn’t even know the man's name and yet here he is, yearning to go find him. 

He can’t though, right? He just broke up with his boyfriend. It would be in bad form to try and get another so soon. It’s also probably a bad idea to look for one when he’s so vulnerable too. 

He’s waffling in the other direction, trying to convince himself that when you feel something this strongly for a stranger, it’s got to be worth checking into, when the door to the loo slams open suddenly.

The beautiful stranger steps in, looking around frantically before his eyes fall on Louis sitting on the floor in front of him. He lets out a breath that sounds like relief, holding out a hand as though to tell Louis not to move. Then, he starts pacing the floor, stopping every few seconds to stare at Louis and open his mouth to speak before deciding against it and going back to his pacing.

Louis watches in amused fascination, curious to see what the man will say when he finally speaks.

And then it happens.

The man stops mid-stride, turns back to Louis says those four magical words that Louis has been waiting half his life to hear.

“Will you marry me?”

Louis’ mouth falls open, shocked beyond belief because in all the years he’d imagined how it might happen, it had never gone quite like this, sitting on the floor of a public toilet right after he'd broken up with his boyfriend. 

He doesn’t have too much time to dwell on it because his soulmate immediately starts rambling in an incredibly cute and endearing way.

“_ Shit _ , sorry! That’s not what I meant to say,” the man says with a wince, running a hand through his hair nervously. “It’s just, well, you’re absolutely gorgeous and you said my words and then you kissed me, and I’ve never been kissed so well in my entire life. I mean, I guess it stands to reason that your soulmate would kiss you better than anyone else, right? And _ then _ the way you handled that guy. Your ex? God, that was masterful. I’m so impressed with you in all the ways and I know it’s probably a bit soon to be thinking marriage but that’s definitely where my mind was going because you can’t let someone as amazing as you slip away. So, I uh, followed you in here and now I’m starting to realize how creepy I probably sound so I’m gonna stop talking and hope for the best.”

A beat of embarrassed silence passes between them.

“Oh, um. I’m Harry, by the way.” The man sputters quickly before falling silent again, watching Louis warily like he’s afraid Louis will abandon him for saying too much.

Louis’ soulmate is fucking adorable. 

“I’m Louis.” He smiles softly up at his soulmate. 

“Louis,” Harry repeats softly, showing Louis that beautiful, dimpled smile again as he reaches out a hand to him. “Would you like some help up?”

“Thank you,” Louis says, taking his hand and letting himself be pulled up.

“Oh shit,” Harry says looking at Louis with wide eyes now that they’re face to face again. “I saddled you with a marriage proposal as your soulmark, didn’t I?”

Louis nods with a laugh, rolling up his sleeve to show Harry the “Will you marry me?” inked into his wrist for all eternity.

“I did wonder about it a lot in my teenage years. Thought for sure it would be someone taking the piss,” Louis tells him.

“_ You’re telling me _,” Harry says with a smirk.

Louis has to take a moment to think back on the first words he said to Harry. He doesn’t remember them right away but then they come flooding back to him like a particularly embarrassing dream.

"Oh god", Louis gasps, feeling his cheeks heat up when he remembers. He can't believe the phrase he stuck his soulmate with. “I saddled _ you _ with ‘You taste delicious’. I’m so sorry,” he apologises, covering his face with his hands and prompting Harry to laugh out loud.

“It definitely led to some awkward conversations when I was a teenager until I learned to cover it up,” he says with a charming half-smile that makes Louis’ knees feel a little wobbly. “Aside from the possible sexual connotations, there was also the odd comment about my soulmate possibly being a cannibal.”

“I’m so, so sorry,” Louis says again, still hiding behind his hands. Honestly, he can’t apologise enough.

“It’s alright,” Harry tells him lazily, the rustle of fabric moving giving Louis the impression that he’s accompanied the comment with a shrug. “It was all worth it in the end if you ask me.”

Louis peeks out from behind his hands to find Harry watching him with fond amusement. 

“You’re so fucking cute,” Louis breathes, not even meaning to say the words but unable to keep what he’s thinking from slipping out of his mouth. 

“The feeling is very mutual,” Harry says completely sincerely, his little half-smile never fading. 

“We should maybe go somewhere else and talk about this,” Louis suggests, taking a pointed look around at where they are. 

Harry laughs, so good-natured about everything Louis has put him through so far. “Might be a good idea.” He steps over to the door and holds it open for Louis to walk through first.

“Er,” Louis says, glancing from his hands to the sink. He can’t remember touching anything nasty but it’s better to be safe than sorry. “I’m just going to wash my hands really quickly.

“Oh, right. Even better idea.” Harry lets the door go and follows Louis to the sinks, washing his hands as well. 

Once their hands are washed and dried, Harry opens the door again, like a proper gentleman, letting Louis walk through first before following with a hand to the small of Louis’ back.

“Alright, just hear me out,” Andrew says, popping up out of nowhere again. 

“My god, man!” Louis exclaims. “Why are you still here? You never fought this hard for me when we were together. Why now?”

“I didn’t think you’d be into threesomes when we were together but now--”

“_ Now,” _ Harry says, taking Louis’ hand in his and entwining their fingers, “you’ve lost your chance, mate. Sorry. But not really.”

“But just hear me out, lads!” Andrew tries again.

“Andrew!” Louis shouts, lifting their clasped hands so that his ex can see the words on their wrists that line up so well together. “We’re soulmates. We don’t need a third.”

“But,” Andrew whimpers, staring at their soulmarks. “Hear me out,” he says pitifully, though it’s obvious he knows he has no chance with them now.

“For the record,” Louis tells him, patting him lightly on the shoulder as he pulls Harry past him, “I’m not sorry either.”

“Bye, Andrew,” Harry waves, letting himself be pulled from the pub. “Thanks!”

Andrew stays behind, watching them leave with sorrowful eyes. 

*

“So, Harry... I-don’t-know-your-surname,” Louis starts with a light laugh once they’re settled in his flat, snuggled close under a cosy blanket on the sofa. “Tell me about yourself.”

“Well, Louis… I-don’t-know-your-surname-either,” Harry laughs back. “My surname is Styles--”

“Nuh-uh,” Louis says immediately. “It is not.”

“It is too,” Harry argues. “I should know, I had it my whole life.”

“Your name is not Harry Styles. I don’t believe it,” Louis crosses his arms stubbornly but he can’t keep the laughter out of his tone.

“Believe it,” Harry retorts before leaning in a little closer. “You should hear what it would be if I shared my mum’s maiden name.”

“What is that?” Louis asks, leaning in further, utterly intrigued by the light in Harry’s eyes. 

“Cox.”

“Oh my god!” Louis cackles, throwing his head back as he laughs. “Your name could have been Harry Cox. Oh, god. You would have been duty-bound to find work in the porn industry with a name like that.”

“It’s true. Porn would have been my only option,” Harry agrees, nodding his head seriously. 

“Oh my god,” Louis says again as his laughter dies down. He leans his head onto Harry’s shoulder just for a moment to steady himself. “Thank you for that. I needed a good laugh.”

“Happy to help,” Harry says, lifting a hand to grasp the nape of Louis’ neck gently. “I know it seems all well and good for me right now. I found my soulmate tonight. But I’m also aware that you lost something in addition to finding your soulmate. ” Harry tangles his fingers into Louis’ hair, massaging his scalp lightly. “So, whatever you need or however slow you need to take this, I’m happy to follow your lead.”

Louis lifts his head, meeting Harry’s eyes and cataloging all the emotions he sees reflected in them. There’s patience, kindness, care. Louis can feel himself falling into them the longer he stares. 

“So,” Harry says, breaking Louis’ trance. “What are we gonna change my name to after we get married.”

“Whoa, Styles,” Louis says, reaching up to tug on a bit of Harry’s hair. “First of all, who says I don’t want to be Louis Styles? And second, weren’t you just going on about taking it as slow as I wanted?”

“Well, I didn’t say we have to get married _ tomorrow,” _Harry replies teasingly. “And maybe I want to be Harry… you’re supposed to fill in the blank here.”

“Harry You’re-supposed-to-fill-in-the-blank-here is a bit of a mouthful,” Louis says, rubbing at his chin with a fake expression of thoughtfulness. “I like Harry Tomlinson better.”

“Oooh. Me too,” Harry agrees enthusiastically. “Harry Tomlinson has a pretty nice ring to it.”

“Then again, so does Louis Styles,” Louis adds, winning another nod from Harry.

“So it does. I guess we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“So, Harry Styles,” Louis starts again. “Now that introductions are out of the way. Tell me about yourself.”

“Well,” Harry begins, “I was pretty boring until my sixteenth birthday when I got the surprise of my life just as I was blowing out my birthday candles…”

*

Six months later…

“So, husband, how do you like your new name?” Louis asks with a tipsy giggle as he crawls into Harry’s lap on their hotel bed, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips before he can answer. 

“I love it,” Harry answers, his hands finding their favorite place on Louis’ hips to pull him closer. “How do you like yours, Mr. Tomlinson-Styles?”

“Mmm,” Louis hums distractedly as Harry sucks a kiss into the side of his neck. “Best surname ever.” 

“I’m sorry for the way it happened but there’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful that Cheater-Andrew brought you into my life,” Harry murmurs, rolling them over so that Louis is trapped on the mattress beneath him. 

“Yeah, me too,” Louis says, feeling breathless at the way Harry is looking at him. It’s funny to think that not so long ago, Louis was hurt by the betrayal that led him to Harry. Now, he couldn’t be happier about the way things turned out. “Can’t believe we actually invited him to the wedding.”

“I can’t believe he actually showed,” Harry chuckles.

“_ I _ can’t believe he still had the nerve to ask for a threesome,” Louis joins in the laughter. 

“Enough about him,” Harry says, leaning in to kiss Louis again. “It’s all about us now.”

“And for the rest of our lives.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! If you did and would like to share it, here is a [fic post](https://fallinglikethis.tumblr.com/post/189981511854/thank-you-to-the-one-who-let-him-get-away) you can reblog. Thank you for reading!


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